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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29486139">paper aeroplanes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyechor/pseuds/eyechor'>eyechor</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay Keith (Voltron), Light Angst, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:29:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,379</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29486139</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyechor/pseuds/eyechor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>'its lance. we sit next to each other in english<br/>mr smythe said i should tutor you?<br/>he did talk to you about that right?'</p><p>'Yeah'</p><p>When Lance's school begins a tutoring program, he never thought he would find himself in the teaching seat. After he gets paired with a certain black haired boy, he finds that he's not the only one who can teach the other. Will the friendship blossom in the harsh atmosphere laden with expectations? Or will it wither under the pressure?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Allura &amp; Coran &amp; Hunk &amp; Keith &amp; Lance &amp; Pidge | Katie Holt &amp; Shiro, Allura &amp; Lance (Voltron), Allura/Lance (Voltron), Coran &amp; Lance (Voltron), Hunk &amp; Keith (Voltron), Hunk &amp; Lance &amp; Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk &amp; Lance (Voltron), Hunk &amp; Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith &amp; Krolia (Voltron), Keith &amp; Lance (Voltron), Keith &amp; Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith &amp; Shiro &amp; Shiro's Family (Voltron), Keith &amp; Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Lance &amp; Lance's Family (Voltron), Lance &amp; Pidge | Katie Holt, Lance &amp; Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. author's note</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Hello!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>This is my first fanfiction for this fandom. I'm planning to make it have a few chapters, and it will be centered on Keith x Lance.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Updates will be weekly, or more or less often, depending on my schoolwork.</b>
</p><p><b>I really hope you enjoy </b> <b>this</b> <b> story!</b></p><p>
  <b>I have published this on Wattpad also.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>suzisa/eyechor</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. blue ticks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Five minutes left.</em>
</p>
<p>"Alright people, it looks like none of you have detention today, which is great! I'm really proud of you guys. Please remember to do your homework so it stays that way!" Coran exclaimed. "You can begin to pack away and leave."</p>
<p>A piercing trill rung through the halls, and, as if on cue, a low rumble of chatter and footsteps shook the building.</p>
<p><em>Thank God.</em> This week had dragged on. Almost all of his teachers had decided to give pop quizzes out of the blue, and Pidge had been absent so he had no-one to rely on but himself. With her help, he had only just managed to rake in some passes, and he couldn't go back to the way it was before. Lance didn't know how his family would react to him failing his classes, what with Veronica setting extremely high expectations by attending the Garrison next year.</p>
<p>He stood up, carefully wrapped his headphones around his phone so they wouldn't get tangled, and retrieved his bag from the chair he had been sitting in. Hunk waved at him from across the room and signalled for him to wait outside for him.</p>
<p>"Can you walk today?" He mouthed.</p>
<p>Lance nodded in response, then turned his attention back to the teacher.</p>
<p>"You're free to leave! See you all on Monday, hopefully refreshed!" chirped Coran.</p>
<p>The class filtered out of the room with a dim chorus of "goodbye", it was Friday after all.</p>
<p>"Have a nice day, Mr Smythe," Lance began as he tried to make his way through the door.</p>
<p>Coran stopped him, "Oh Lance, I need to talk to you. It'll only be a minute don't worry."</p>
<p>Only a few steps away, the door invited him. Had he taken his stuff and left only a few seconds earlier, he would be with Hunk now, on their way home. The student internally groaned, but forced an amicable smile, "Yes sir, what is it?"</p>
<p>His teacher smiled, more brightly than usual - if that was possible for Coran. "I'm sure you remember that English essay you had to write on Tuesday," he paused, allowing Lance to nod his head.</p>
<p>
  <em>Why would he be talking about that?</em>
</p>
<p>"Well your teacher shared your results with me, and we're both really proud! You got a 98!" Coran beamed.</p>
<p>Shocked, Lance spoke, "What, really?" He couldn't believe his ears, he had been so certain he failed that one.</p>
<p>"Yes! You actually scored the highest in the grade."</p>
<p>
  <em>Only because Pidge hadn't done it...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>...but that couldn't take away from his win, right?</em>
</p>
<p>"Wow, I mean, thank you for telling me!" Lance grinned. "Bye Mr Smythe!"</p>
<p>"Wait, I'm not finished." he straightened his moustache and his expression changed. "I needed to talk about something else as well. As you might be aware, not everyone is as ...good as you are in English, so, would you be open to tutoring other students?"</p>
<p>It was unusual for him to be in this position. The tutee had become the tutor.</p>
<p>He raised his eyebrows, "I'm flattered, but I don't know if I would be suitable to do that." A polite way of saying '<em>no thanks, I don't know what I'm talking about</em>'.</p>
<p>"Ah, well I was afraid that you would say that. But, it has a lot of benefits! Explaining something to someone else would solidify your own knowledge of the subject." Noticing that Lance didn't even bat an eyelid, Coran changed his tactic. "It's a shame though, colleges and universities <em>really</em> do like seeing stuff like this on applications." He looked Lance dead in the eye. "And I know you wanted to pursue higher education like your sister."</p>
<p>Lance gulped. "Okay... I'll think about it."</p>
<p>"Great!" Coran returned to his usual overly-joyous self. "It was actually your English teacher that told me to ask you this, he already has a student in mind. You should know him - he said that you two sit next to each other. His name is Keith Kogane."</p>
<p>Keith Kogane.</p>
<p>Of course, he knew him: everyone knew him. But no-one <em>knew </em>him. Two years ago, he transferred from a neighbouring school, and they had been placed next to each other. They had only exchanged two sentences: both had been about homework or class. It was as if the guy only spoke a sentence a year, but Lance saw the frustration and disappointment that was etched onto his face whenever he received a score, as well as the indifference every time Lance tried to start a conversation.</p>
<p>"Yeah. I'm aware who he is. Is that all?" Lance grumbled as the annoyance began to show in the cracks of his happy façade.</p>
<p>"Mhm." Coran sat back down behind his desk. "Come and see me on Monday morning, and I'll give both of you a pass so you can go to the library during fifth period. Have a nice weekend Lance!"</p>
<p>"See you later, Mr Smythe."</p>
<p>Lance found Hunk in the hallway, rummaging through his locker. He stopped when his friend tapped his shoulder, and turned to face him, "Oh, hey Lance. What was that about?" he asked. The two walked and talked, making their exit from the gates of <em>Lion's High School.</em></p>
<p>"Dude, you're not going to believe this."</p>
<p>Hunk narrowed his eyes, "What is it..."</p>
<p>Lance took a deep breath, and swelled his chest with pride, while Hunk waited for him to say. To be fair, it was big news, and Lance thought it deserved some hyping up. "I got a 98 in English! Me, a 98. Last year I barely passed."</p>
<p>"Oh my God. Congrats" Hunk's eyes watered, and then he held up a hand. "The character development! I'm so proud and happy for you!"</p>
<p>Their palms met with a smack.</p>
<p>"Thanks." Lance winked, before sighing and kicking a pebble out of his way, "But there's a catch... I need to start tutoring some guy, Mr Smythe basically didn't let me say no. He started talking about how good it is to put on college applications. Now I understand how Pidge felt when I begged her to teach me physics."</p>
<p>Hunk looked up at the sky, "Well, it might not be that bad. I only started hanging out with Shay once we got paired for that project." His eyes glossed over and went all dreamy.</p>
<p>"Hunk, you're whipped." Lance teased, rolling his eyes. "Besides, that was only after you had a crush on her for, what, like a year?"</p>
<p>His friend's cheeks started glowing with a tinge of pink. "What about your crush on Allura?"</p>
<p>
  <em>Right, Allura.</em>
</p>
<p>"That was different. We actually went out. But it doesn't matter anyway, because we're just friends now," he began pretending to be interested with the hem of his sleeve.</p>
<p>Truth be told, Lance would think that at the beginning they did both like each other, but as the months went on he felt his heart straying away from the relationship and her gaze drifting further away from him. Neither of them were being true to themselves. They were better off as friends, and there were no hard feelings on either side.</p>
<p>"Yeah. Whatever you say to make yourself feel better. Who's the guy though?"</p>
<p>Lance perked up at the change in topic, "Keith. You know, the guy I sit next to in English."</p>
<p>"Keith. The Keith Kogane." Hunk stopped in the middle of the pavement. "Lance! You liar!" He continued, despite the glare he was receiving. "That is <em>not</em> just 'some guy'."</p>
<p>Lance scoffed, "I don't get what the big deal is."</p>
<p>"The big deal is you can't spend like a year complaining about someone and then just call them <em>some guy</em>." he remarked, making exaggerated air quotes.</p>
<p>"When have I ever even talked about him?"</p>
<p>"Literally all the time! Did you suddenly forget?" Hunk groaned, before imitating his friend. "<em>Oh my God Keith! He's so annoying! His long silky black mullet and stoic composure are </em><em>so</em><em> infuriating!</em>"</p>
<p>Lance shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck, "Erm. Oh yeah. Sure." His hands dropped to his pockets, "I was only trying to be positive like you said."</p>
<p>"You can drop the act, it's me."</p>
<p>There was an awkward pause for a second, before Lance motioned for them to start walking again, "Okay. Why did I have to he paired with him? He doesn't even like me. This isn't going to help either one of us. I'm pretty sure he hates me. It's going to be so awkward, and the only bonus is that I get to skip period five."</p>
<p>Hunk nodded, as though he was agreeing with Lance, but his facial expression screamed '<em>why did I ask</em>'. "Oh wow. Yeah. That's horrible. You're so unlucky, totally. Yes. One hundred per cent."</p>
<p>The rather one-sided conversation continued as they lazily walked back home. Hunk let out a sigh of relief as his house came into view, "Well, I'm gonna go now I guess." He waved and grinned sheepishly, before Lance could have a chance to protest. "Bye!"</p>
<p>The door slammed shut.</p>
<p>"Wow. That was weird." Lance mumbled, pulling his phone and headphones out of his pockets. He put them on, leaving one out so he could hear the traffic.</p>
<p>He already had Keith's number, from when the latter had asked for the homework. If you scrolled up a little bit on the chat named 'mullet guy', you could see a blurry picture of some answers and a 'thx' in reply.</p>
<p>Lance typed out a message, 'hey. mr smythe said we should pair up so i can tutor you', before he erased it.</p>
<p>He started typing again: 'hi,'</p>
<p>Unsure of what to write, he drew his eyes away from the phone screen and looked at the houses across the road. Most of the lawns were neatly arranged, and the bushes were speckled with buds of colour. Lance made a mental note to show his mother - ever since she started staying home to look after his abuela, she had found solace in flower arranging and gardening.</p>
<p>
  <em>Incoming call from Pidge.</em>
</p>
<p>The ring tone shocked him back to focus, but in the process he jerked his thumb and accidentally pressed send. It was too late to do anything now, under the blue bubble of his message was a four letter word that sealed his doom. '<em>Read</em>'.</p>
<p>He begrudgingly answered the call, "Pidge? What the hell? You spooked me!"</p>
<p>"Oops. Sorry." She apologised in between giggles.</p>
<p>"Why are you even calling anyway? I thought people with the flu shouldn't be going on screens."</p>
<p>Lance could practically hear her rolling her eyes. "I don't have the flu."</p>
<p>"Then... Why haven't you been at school?"</p>
<p>"I'm actually in California right now. Pretty sweet right?"</p>
<p>He gasped, "Pidge! What would your dad say? Or your brother?"</p>
<p>"Pfft. It was their idea. There's a Physics Olympiad in Sacramento and I couldn't miss it. I'll be back by Sunday, I know you and Hunk have missed me."</p>
<p>"We missed you a lot. You decided to go to your Olympics whatever the one week that we have like a bajillion tests."</p>
<p>"Stop exaggerating. I'm sure you guys were fine without me."</p>
<p>Lance laughed. "We were, actually. I scored highest in the grade for English."</p>
<p>"Urm. Well done Lance!" She didn't even try to hide her surprise.</p>
<p>He blinked, "Aren't you jealous?"</p>
<p>"No, I'm genuinely happy for you."</p>
<p>"Really?"</p>
<p>"Yeah. English was never really my thing anyway."</p>
<p>"Of course. Well, I just got home, and I need to do my homework, wanna call later?" There was a click as he unlocked the door and stepped inside, avoiding the freshly steamed carpet.</p>
<p>"Sure," She replied. "We can make a group call with Hunk."</p>
<p>"Sounds great. See you later, Pidge," He hung up.</p>
<p>Lance yelled out a greeting to his mum and skipped up the stairs. Once he was inside his room, he set his bag on the floor and allowed himself to fall onto the bed. The warm yellow glow of sunlight filtered in through the blinds.</p>
<p>As he sunk deeper into his cushions, the afternoon haze engulfed him. His eyelids were heavy and threatening to close, but they snapped open when his phone chimed.</p>
<p>
  <em>1 notification from mullet guy - now</em>
</p>
<p>
  <b>mullet guy:</b>
  <br/>
  <em>Hello.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Who is this?</em>
</p>
<p>Lance's heart began pounding, like an animal, frantic to escape its cage. This time he didn't hesitate to reply.</p>
<p>
  <b>you:</b>
  <br/>
  <em>its lance. we sit next to each other in english</em>
  <br/>
  <em>mr smythe said i should tutor you?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>he did talk to you about that right?</em>
</p>
<p>He threw the phone at the end of his bed, not wanting to look at it for a second more.</p>
<p>That didn't last long. A ping interrupted the silence, again. Thumbs shaky, he opened the notification.</p>
<p>
  <b>mullet guy:</b>
  <br/>
  <em>Yeah</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. intro to us</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lance looked all around the dining hall. He could pick out the faces of people in his classes within the hall and recognise them, but he couldn't find the person he was searching. Even as he set his plastic tray down on the table where Pidge, Hunk and Shay sat, his eyes never ceased to dart in between the crowd.</p>
<p>"Who are you looking for?" Pidge asked in between mouthfuls.</p>
<p>"Oh, just..." he hesitated, weaving a lie, "I was wondering if Allura would join us today?" He was asking himself more than Pidge.</p>
<p>She nodded, "She said she was busy today. Debate club and all. Lance, you know that you can tell us if you still have feelings for her right? We won't judge."</p>
<p>"Yeah! I know that, but I really don't. Have feelings for her, I mean."</p>
<p>"Cool."</p>
<p>The two fell into a comfortable silence as Hunk and Shay shamelessly flirted with one another. Every so often, Pidge would look up from whatever project she had started on her phone, and would send a grimace in their direction. Lance swirled the limp cafeteria food, and fashioned an abstract painting on his plate.</p>
<p>"What are you working on?" Lance peered past the grimy plates on the table and at her phone.</p>
<p>"Nothing." Pidge lifted the device and showed it to Lance, "I'm checking the results of the Olympiad. I want to know if I'm through to the next stage."</p>
<p>Lance squinted in an attempt to see it, so she shoved it closer to his face, "They were meant to post the results today, but they're taking almost as long as Nevada in the election," she sneered, drawing a chuckle out of her friend.</p>
<p>"What are you guys talking about?" Hunk chimed in. He seemed to have snapped out of his lovesick bubble.</p>
<p>"The Olympiad." Pidge replied, careful not to bring up Allura as it would open a tin of worms. Lance gave her a small appreciative look.</p>
<p>"Why are you even checking, you know that you're going to get through." Hunk extended his arm, taking a fry from Lance's plate.</p>
<p>"I still need the confirmation."</p>
<p>"Fair enough." He shrugged.</p>
<p>Lance tuned out the conversation around him, instead opting to carry on his search. The volume in the hall stayed the same, even as a portion of students were missing to do clubs. Lance tried to spot a black mullet - if they were going to have to spend time together he might as well be aware of where to find him during recess. He didn't really know where to look as he hadn't taken notice of Keith's whereabouts before. Soon, he found his eyes lingering in the same clusters where he had already looked. <em>This was the hardest game of Where's Wally ever.</em></p>
<p>"Come on Lance, we're going to be late to class." Hunk waved a hand in Lance's eyeline. "Hello? Earth to Lance? Anyone home?"</p>
<p>Said boy stood up sharply, almost knocking over his soda can. He decided to take it, it would have been too much of a waste to spill it or throw it away. "Yeah. Let's go."</p>
<p>In the hallway, he saw Allura exiting one of the classrooms, clutching a bright purple folder. She sent a warm smile his way, before looking away and walking briskly to her class. Close behind her was Keith. He didn't smile, or even look.</p>
<p>Lance chugged the soda in the doorway of his English classroom. As he walked in, he tossed the empty can in the bin and took his seat. On the desks were the flipped over papers. Lance peeked at his, and sure enough there was a large '98 :)' scrawled in red marker. Against his better judgement, he snuck in a quick glance at Keith's paper, only to see a large frowny face and a few sentences written in small handwriting.</p>
<p>He quickly slid the sheet away from him and glued his arms to his sides, just as Keith entered the room, two minutes late. The teacher immediately chastised him. He didn't seem to care, only muttering a short response under his breath and sitting down next to Lance. As usual, he avoided all eye contact.</p>
<p>When they were told to turn over their papers and read their work, he rested his head in his arm in such a way that blocked Lance's view of his work. It was a futile attempt to hide something that the latter had already seen in his nosiness.</p>
<p>Lance opened his mouth to speak to Keith, but he decided not to when two girls were faced with the punishment of detention for giggling between themselves. He didn't try again, until the end of the lesson.</p>
<p>"Let's go to the library." He sounded more confident than he felt.</p>
<p>The walk there was uncomfortable. From his face, Lance could gather that Keith wasn't really in the mood for conversation, so they made their way to the library in silence - their footsteps being the only sound that gave away their presence. Lance clung to the pass Coran had written for him, just in case they would come across a teacher that would demand why they were in the corridors.</p>
<p>They sat down opposite to each other on one of the library tables. <em>Now we have no choice but to talk</em>, Lance thought.</p>
<p>To his surprise, Keith spoke up first, "Hey, I'm Keith. You must be Lance."</p>
<p>"I know who you are." Lance stated.</p>
<p>"Oh."</p>
<p>Sensing that the conversation was taking an awkward turn, Lance blurted out, "Your jacket is nice!"</p>
<p>Originally an attempt at flattery, Lance really looked at the jacket. It was. It was made of a smooth red fabric, and it was accented by yellow and white stripes. Red was such a beautiful colour, Lance thought that Keith was very lucky that it suited him.</p>
<p>He took the chance to really look at Keith, as well. The boy sat in front of him had harsh, defined features, but not in the overwhelming way. His dark hair framed his face, although it obscured his forehead and eyebrows - they sat like ribbons over his eyes. From a distance, his eyes could easily be mistaken as black or a really dark brown, but upon closer inspection they were in fact a dark charcoal grey, flecked with shimmers of violet. They seemed to absorb everything about Lance.</p>
<p>"Thanks." His pale complexion was dusted by light pink, which lasted for a second. To anyone else, it may have seemed like a trick of the light.</p>
<p>He gazed at Lance, who suddenly felt exposed. He saw his eyes scan his face, and then linger on his lips and eyes. He licked his own lips, and smirked. "I like yours, too. But, we should get started."</p>
<p>"Wow. You're actually taking this seriously."</p>
<p>Keith narrowed his eyes, "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He scowled, clenching his fists slightly.</p>
<p>Lance chuckled stiffly, "I don't know. But it's good that you are." He opened up his notes and took out some highlighters and a ballpoint pen. "I figured that we could start be reviewing areas of strength and weakness. So, um, tell me what don't you understand?"</p>
<p>The other boy did the same, "Well, I understand it. I guess I just don't like analytical writing."</p>
<p>"Why are we doing this then?" Lance groaned.</p>
<p>"I need to pass English. This was my last option."</p>
<p>"Oh. Well is there anything you need help with?"</p>
<p>Keith looked up, alternating between the top right and top left corners of his eyes, as if he could find the answer hidden in his fringe. He rubbed his eyes and stared down at the notebook, "Could we go through the actual writing bit. I think I understand the quotes."</p>
<p>"Sure. Can I see what you've written?"</p>
<p>His tutee of sorts slid the paper across the table to Lance, who then picked it up and read it. Keith's handwriting was pretty. Really pretty. It was the sort that you would expect to find on a study blog. He didn't notice his own eyes widening, or Keith twiddling his thumbs.</p>
<p>"This is really good..." he confessed, evoking a soft smile from Keith. Lance traced the neat lines with his finger, and looked up to meet Keith's stare, "But you've not really done any analysis."</p>
<p>"What do you mean?" Keith demanded.</p>
<p>"You've just retold the story. The first rule of writing essays is that you need to, <em>como se dice</em>, analyse." Lance deadpanned.</p>
<p>"What's the point? I answered the question, didn't I? There's no point in waffling needlessly when you can just say it how it is,"</p>
<p>"Okay, while I do agree with that, it's not the point of analytical writing."</p>
<p>Keith rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, can I read yours as an example?"</p>
<p>Lance handed him the essay. There was a short silence while he read the pages.</p>
<p>"It's good." He muttered.</p>
<p>"Thanks." Lance winked.</p>
<p>They continued discussing the work, and every so often, their eyes would lock for a moment until Lance would get flustered and look away. He didn't usually feel like this - usually, it was him that could beguile someone with just a look, not the other way around. This guy was flipping his world upside down.</p>
<p>Keith glanced at his phone, the screen almost completely shattered, "Isn't it time to go?"</p>
<p>"Oh, shit, yeah. I hope you found that helpful."</p>
<p>"I did. When should we do it again?" he got up and leaned against the table.</p>
<p>Lance stuffed the notebooks and pens into his backpack, desperately trying not to gawk at Keith, "I dunno. I don't think Mr Smythe will give us anymore passes to skip class, though."</p>
<p>"That's true. We could go to mine, next week?" Keith suggested.</p>
<p>"Sounds good. I don't know about you, but I have a large family, so I don't think my house would be a very good place to like focus."</p>
<p>"That won't be a problem at my house," he grimaced slightly. "It's just my brother, sister and me."</p>
<p>"Alright." Lance didn't pry further.</p>
<p>The pair exited the library, while Lance mustered up the courage to invite Keith to hang out. He took a deep breath, plastered on a confident grin and crossed his arms, "So... Basketball try-outs are today. Me and some of my friends were gonna go and check it out. Would you like to come with?"</p>
<p>Keith shook his head, eyes never leaving Lance, "Nah, no thanks. I'm more of a football kind of guy. I'll be going to that, instead."</p>
<p>"Oh okay." he said, smile not leaving his face. "Well, bye I guess."</p>
<p>"Goodbye Lance."</p>
<p>Maybe Keith wasn't as bad as Lance had assumed.</p>
<p>The walk to the basketball courts was short, but everyone else was there already: Pidge and Hunk were mindlessly passing to each other; Allura and Romelle were giggling together on the benches; there were others, of course, but Lance didn't pay too much attention to them.</p>
<p>"Hey Lance!" Allura started, and the rest echoed her.</p>
<p>Hunk received a pass from Pidge and began dribbling on the spot. "Do you guys want to do a half court game?"</p>
<p>They all nodded, bar Allura. She remained seated at the bench. "You guys can play without me, so Romelle can get some practise."</p>
<p>"Two versus two. That's alright. Should we do girls versus boys?" Hunk asked, ball now in his arms.</p>
<p>"No!" Pidge huffed. "That would be so unfair, you're both so tall."</p>
<p>"How about we do me and Hunk against you and Lance?" Romelle chimed in, "that way it would sort of balance out."</p>
<p>"That would be better," Pidge's scowl immediately disappeared, instead revealing a sneaky smirk at Lance.</p>
<p>The four of them played a casual game for a while, as more people accumulated around the hall - most of them really tall boys.</p>
<p>Soon, the coach called them in and it began. For an hour or so, Lance forgot about everything that had been bothering him, and entirely focused on the game. A monotonous cacophony of rubber screeching against floors provided the soundtrack for the tryouts, as the assembly of students played games and did drills.</p>
<p>"I think that went well," Lance said, taking a swig from his water bottle. "Hopefully we all make the team."</p>
<p>"Even if we don't, we can still go to the practises." Allura pointed out.</p>
<p>The friend group all said "yeah" in unison.</p>
<p>"Romelle can I ask you something?" Lance pulled her to the side, "You went to Keith's old school right?"</p>
<p>The girl in question nodded, "Yes, why?"</p>
<p>"What was he like?"</p>
<p>"Lance, I didn't know him that well. I only went there for a few months before moving here." She recounted. "Why are you asking anyway, do you like him or something?"</p>
<p>"Uhh.. No! I'm straight." Totally.</p>
<p>"Well, <em>he's</em> not."</p>
<p>Lance's eyes widened, and he laughed exaggeratedly, "Ha, that's, um, very interesting!"</p>
<p>"Not really."</p>
<p>Across the street, Keith too was walking home - hair tied up in a loose ponytail, exposing his neck. <em>Fuck, if I don't feel like a vampire right now,</em> Lance felt his face get hot.</p>
<p>When the other was looking in their direction, Lance waved vigorously, only for Keith to slightly nod his head in response.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>our two boys have started talking! it's going to get more interesting now i promise.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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